Undrowned
by The Spectrum Sings
Summary: The lake looked innocent enough, but Lily remembered when the banks swamped upwards to engulf her into the unfathomable, cavernous depths. Lily also remembered a boy with black hair with mysterious eyes offering his hand. Lily and Severus's first meeting. Lily's point of view.


I was eleven years old. Some days, this seems ever so young and some days I am surprised that at that old age I did not know how to swim. Being eleven was the same as being ten, except I would be going to the secondary school with boring sky grey jumpers in the fall. I was eleven years old and I was lonely. Petunia had a violin lesson. She hated the violin and we secretly joked about dropping hers down the stairs and making it look like an all too innocent accident. We never did, of course. We knew how much it had cost Dad. We knew how upset he would be, we knew how much he though Petunia loved the violin. She was trying, she really was. We just wanted to make Dad smile.

I was eleven years old and being lonely, I had gone to find my friends. I had gone to the park originally, but no one had been there. I sat on the swing under the hot August sun and considered where I could go. Sometimes Petunia and I went to the small lake about twenty minutes from our house without telling Mum and Dad. They trusted us. They trusted we were safe together. Petunia and I didn't go out much anymore, she was upset with me because I tried to teach her a magic trip I had _picked up_ from somewhere and she couldn't make it work.

I had wondered to the lake alone and discarded my peach sandals, dipping my green painted toes into the cold water. None of my friends were here either. I checked my flower watch, it was only half eleven. Petunia wouldn't be home for another twenty minutes. If I left now, maybe we could go and get ice cream together. Maybe she had forgotten about the pulsing daisy. Maybe I could pretend I had forgotten the look of almost horror she had given me when I whispered: "it's just like magic."

I stood carefully, but not carefully enough. I remember the layers of weeds and reeds the coated the outer layer of the lake. I remember how sloppy it was, how unstable. But neither Petunia nor I had ever been close to falling it and we had both dipped our toes in before. Petunia had always complained that she wanted to paint her toe nails, too. But Mum had given me green nail varnish specially because it matched my eyes and I was reluctant to share. Petunia had her own nail varnish anyway, but it was an unsightly pink colour that didn't complement or harmonise with her skin tone.

My careful standing landed me into the murky waters of the lake. The water reminded me of the feel of body wash, slimy and a bit too thick. It felt like frozen peas against my body, plastering my floral dress to my body. I had simply gone to stand up again, only to fall, this time slipping under completely, and gagging. I pulled my head upwards, spluttering, and felt something slither and twist around my ankles. It was as if the innocent, childlike lake of my younger days had turned against me. It was slowly tugging and gripping, pulling me further into the unfathomable, cavernous depths. I had tried repeatedly to get my ankle free, which soon became trying to get my leg free. I became suddenly aware that the icy water, too cold for the humid summer, was lapping at my collarbones.

I had remembered in that instant, my magic trick. I remembered opening and closing my hand in time with the flower petals, I remembered the look of awe Petunia gave me, the little laugh she gave as she asked how I learned to do that. I remember the look of distrust when I couldn't explain, when there was no explanation.

I looked up in time to see a boy standing on the bank opposite. I barely called out "help" when my head sunk beneath the none existent waves. I thought about the boys stunning, surprising dark eyes as I kicked and struggled and thought _I'm never going to make up with Petunia, I'm going to die, I'm never going to taste alcohol, I'm never going to be free. _The feeling when I made the flower petals twitch was as if life was coursing through my veins and warming my soul. It was like by focusing on the memory, I could bring it back. Slowly, the water around me melted away. It dissolved into nothing. Stream arose around me.

The black haired boy offered his hand. "I just wanted to see if you could save yourself." He had apologised.

"And I could." I had said, taking his hand. We stood together at the bottom of an empty lake. He didn't let go of my hand and I could feel the blood rushing to my face. I thought about telling Petunia and decided this moment was _mine. _

"You could. Like Magic." He agreed. "I'm Severus." He added sincerely with a shy smile. He looked familiar.

"I'm Lily." I offered, grinning. My hair clung to my face, my dress was tinted green. I sneezed. "Magic?" I questioned. It was like I knew. It was like it wasn't just I who had escaped the lake, he had helped me.

"I'll walk you home." He had said, pulling out a tissue. "It's clean."

I took the tissue.

I had met my _always. _


End file.
